Antigone

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

Antigone is a tragic play written by Sophocles in 441 BC and is the third of the three Theban plays written by him. However, Sophocles actually wrote Antigone first rather than doing it in a chronological order. The title of the play is named after the main character in the play Antigone who is the daughter of Oedipus, the famous king of Thebes who accidentally fulfilled his destiny, which was to kill his father and marry his mother. In the play, Antigone is condemned to die after giving one of her brothers proper burial rights even though it was forbidden by her uncle, Creon, the new king of Thebes. Creon condemning Antigone led to the death of his niece (Antigone), his son (Haemon who was in love with Antigone and about to marry her), and his wife, who was heart-broken by her son’s death. When he realizes what his actions and decision had caused, Creon is heart-broken and realizes his faults, feeling the pity for himself and he became overridden by the guilt. He also realized that his actions were against the laws made by the gods, and now knows that his actions had specific consequences chosen by the gods. 

What is the artist communicating and how? 

Although there are many themes within Antigone the two major themes depicted in the play are the differences between Man Made Law and Divine Law and Fate and Free Will. The play is centered on Creon making a law that forbids the burial of one of Antigone’s brother because he had committed treason to the state. Antigone, out of love and respect for her brother, refused to obey that law and buried him in the darkness of the night. She believes that under the law and watching eyes of the gods, she has the right to bury her brother and her brother has the right to be buried. Not burying her brother would cause severe consequences to the city of Thebes and she refused to obey a man-made law when the divine law held much more importance and authority. Creon, angered and betrayed, condemned Antigone to death for not obeying his law but by the end of the play realizes his mistake of not following divine law. The other theme, Fate versus Free Will, is shown multiple times throughout the play. Antigone had the free will and determination to bury her brother based on divine law and refused to let anyone hinder her free will. Creon’s fate, based on his terrible actions and decisions, was that he would be left all alone to dwell on his mistakes and mourn the deaths of his niece, son, and wife because of only him. 

Why do you find it beautiful? 

Antigone is one of my favorite plays. I had just read it this year for my AP English Literature course and I fell in love with all the themes involved and the overall meaning and point in the play. The themes of the play are so evident and similar to the problems that we still have society that it is so easy to relate to it. My favorite character, surprisingly, was Haemon because even though he loved his father with a passion and would do anything for him, he saw the evil behind his father’s actions and refused to go through with it. His love for Antigone was so much stronger and he felt that he should stick up for her so he was willing to take his own life, in front of his father’s eyes, just to prove him wrong. By doing this, Creon saw his own evil and mistakes. It’s a beautiful tragedy that makes you think about your own mistakes and about the laws that we have ourselves and how different they are from the divine laws that are placed on us. We also see a lack of leadership by the female characters and Antigone seems to overcome the usual “men are better than women” rule that most ancient societies had. This is another problem in our society that is shown in such an ancient play and that we still haven’t fixed.

Million Years Ago

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

“Million Years Ago” is a song Adele recently released on her newest album 25. Adele actually wrote the song along with Greg Kurstin who then produced it and placed it on her album. It is the ninth track on the album. In a recent interview, Adele explained the significance of the song and her inspiration for writing it. She also revealed that the song was actually added to the album in the last minute. She explained the song as very “stripped-back” and explained how it was much like the songs on her previous album, 19. The entirety of the song is just Adele on her piano and expressing her feelings, with no other instrumentals. She also said that she became influenced to write this song and produce it when she was driving past Brockwell Park, which is a park in South London where she used to live and spent the majority of her youth. She claimed that as she was driving past, she felt a range of emotions and felt all her pervious memories of her times at that park at this time. She wrote the song simply because she missed her previous life and memories and how easy life was back then.

 

What is the artist communicating and how?

The two major themes expressed in “Million Years Ago” seem to be that things happen in our lives that we would’ve never though would happen and that when they happen, we miss the old lives that we used to live. In her interview, Adele claimed that she never thought that the life she had now would have ever happen to her. She used to sit in Brockwell Park with her friends, playing the guitar and writing songs together, enjoying what was happening then. When she looks back on it, she never thought that now there is no time to do the same things with them because each person moved on with their lives to better things, including herself. The significance of the song just being her and her guitar is also explained in that statement, because it shows her emotion and how much she misses playing the guitar just with her friends. The entire purpose of the song is to explain that life has a funny way of turning out and when we stop and look back at everything that has happened and how much has changed, we begin to miss our old lives and how things were back in the old days. 

Why do you find it beautiful?  

This is my all time favorite song by Adel because of the beauty and simplicity behind the words. I first heard the song when I watched her live performance of it on The Today Show on November 25^th. Her performance had one of the simplest sets I have ever seen, however, it was just as fascinating and enticing. The rest of her album is just as beautiful but this song has a certain significance and tone to it that is unexplainable, really. My favorite line from the song is “I wish I could lived a little more,/ Look up to the sky, not just the floor” because I feel as if I connect most with that line. Although most people would view this song as sad, I think that the song instills some new kind of confidence in someone because even though the majority of the lyrics are much like the one I said was my favorite, they also seem to be telling the audience that we can overcome the hardships and look up to the sky eventually. I think the song is trying to tell its audience that eventually our lives will get better and we will overcome whatever hardships we are currently facing.

Temple of Zeus

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

The Temple of Zeus is located in Olympia, Greece and was created in the ancient times to honor the King of the Gods, Zeus. The most important festival in the ancient times was the Olympic Games in honor of Zeus, in which athletes form all lands would compete in. they first started in 776 B.C.  and were held at a shrine on the western coast of Greece, Peloponnesus. The site of the games was held in Olympia for the season and as time went on, the shrine for Zeus eventually became a temple. It was built around 432 BC and made of Ivory and gold-plated plates with a wooden frame. The designer of the temple was Libon of Elis, who followed the basic design of many other ancient Greek buildings, like the Parthenon. It was built on a rectangular platform with thirteen columns to support the roof and a peaked roof. Above the columns were sculptures of the twelve labors of Heracles assigned by his father, Zeus. This temple became the best example of the Doric design and inside was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, a magnificent statue of Zeus that further emphasized the importance of the King of the Gods. 

What is the artist communicating and how?

The two major themes of the Temple of Zeus are to express a love and gratitude to the King of the Gods in the Ancient Times and to tell a story, almost. The entire purpose of the temple was to create an even bigger shrine than there already was for the King of the Gods, who everyone in the lands worshipped. The Olympic Games were held in honor of Zeus and therefore many believed that there should be a much larger shrine for him that would do some sort of justice. The statue that was added and became an ancient wonder of the world, further exemplified the importance and the love that the people of the ancient times had for Zeus. There is a myth in which Zeus, himself, approved of his temple on Olympia by touching the temple with a thunderbolt that did no damage and where a bronze Hydria appeared in the place of the thunderbolt. The story being told in the Temple of Zeus is that of Zeus, himself. The story of the Temple is the importance that the King of the Gods held at the time and how worshipped and loved he was by all. His son, Hercules, further proved Zeus’ importance with his twelve labors being depicted at the top of the temple. 

Why do you find it beautiful?  

I picked the Temple of Zeus as opposed to something better known like the Parthenon because I wanted to do something different. I found this temple beautiful in particular because all that is left of what was supposed to be the most beautiful temple in all of Greece, is a couple of columns on the rectangular platform. Historians have an idea as to what they think that the temple should have looked like according to what they have extracted and found and I think that it was the most beautiful temple that I had ever seen. The intricate designs and architecture involved in building the Temple of Zeus is so complex and beautiful. Also, the thought that the ancient people put into building this temple from where to place the temple to what to put inside it was amazing. I have a soft spot for the statue that was placed in the temple because the sculptor who created that statue was the same sculptor who created the statue of Athena Parthenos, Phidias. His designs and his sculptures are so beautiful and intricate it’s amazing. All in all the temple was so thought out and that is evident through the way that it still stands today after centuries.

Aphrodite and Ares

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

In the National Gallery in London, England, there is a painting titled “Aphrodite and Ares” painted by Sandro Botticelli in 1485. The purpose of the painting was to depict the ancient Greek God Ares and the Ancient Goddess Aphrodite in a state of beauty and luxury. They are in a forest surrounded by satyrs and the painting was made to create an ideal of love, pleasure and play. In the painting, Aphrodite is watching Ares sleep while two satyrs play with Ares’ helmet and lance. According to myths, Aphrodite was cheating on Hephaestus with Ares and sneaking around with him. I assume this painting is one of their random rendezvous away from the watchful eyes of other gods and away from the crippled Hephaestus. In the background of the painting, there is a swarm of wasps that is meant to symbolize both love and pain: the love that Ares and Aphrodite held and the pain that came with that love to other people. The setting is in a dark forest that gives a sense of perspective and the sea from which Aphrodite was born from is in the background, incorporating different myths into the paintings. This painting was meant to be a product of early Renaissance Neo- Platonist thinking, diverging from the important aspects of Renaissance thinking. 

What is the artist communicating and how?

The two themes of “Aphrodite and Ares” are that of love and betrayal. The love aspect comes with the love that is shared between Aphrodite and Ares and is evident in the entire painting. The ocean from which Aphrodite was born from shows the significance of Ares love for her because he chose a spot that was close to her heart. Aphrodite watching Ares sleep also shows their love because of the loving gaze that she sends his way and how enticed she is by him that she seems to barely notice the other things happening around her. The love is also playful in that satyrs are standing and playing around them, showing a more genuine and happy side to their love. There is also a sensuous love and that is shown through the lack of garments on Ares and the way that the painting is set up with the pillows and blankets for their comfort. The betrayal comes with Aphrodite cheating on Hephaestus with Ares. Although this is not specifically shown in the painting, the story of her infidelity is still well known to anyone who has a passion for Greek mythology or even just knows the basics of it.

Why do you find it beautiful? 

In all honesty, I had never actually seen this painting before writing this blog. I actually had just wanted a painting that would match the overall theme of this blog (Greek Mythology) and looked up paintings that were based on Greek Mythology. I think that this painting stuck with me the most because I had known the story of Aphrodite and Ares so well. I had always found their story to be so enticing and exciting and it was definitely one of my favorite myths. Of course I know that infidelity and cheating are bad traits and should never be committed, however, the overall love that they had for one another, the betrayal that Hephaestus felt when he found out, and the way that he caught them together was always so amusing. It showed the way that not even the gods are perfect, they mess up and cheat and make the same mistakes that all humans make, and they are not exempt from making them just because they are immortal. This painting brought back that story for me because I had honestly not thought of it for a long time. I feel like I never really understood the meaning of the story until I saw this painting.

Once Upon a Time

 

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

Once Upon a Time was created by Executive Producers and Co-Creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (also known for their work in the show, Lost), because they wanted to create a new story about hope based on the fairy tale characters that people grew up with and loved. The show began in 2011 and has generated five seasons so far that interlocks all the characters from different fairy tales into one town. The show became so popular that a spinoff series was created called Once Upon a Time in Wonderland; however, this was less popular than the actual show. Kitsis and Horowitz actually worked together for eight years before the show was actually created writing their own fairy tales out of a love for mystery and excitement and then finally created the show Once Upon a Time by 2011. The pilot of the show was meant to be a template of the entire series to explain what was going to happen in the show and give viewers a chance to see the excitement that comes with viewing Once Upon a Time. They received some inspiration from Bill Willingham’s comic series Fables and from a show in the 1980s called The Charming.

What is the artist communicating and how?

Once Upon a Time has two central themes in the entirety of its plot and episodes. They are hope and a major theme concerning the importance of family and motherhood. Kitsis and Horowitz wanted to create and emphasize the significance of strong female characters rather than showing the damsel in distress like in the fairy tales themselves. The three main leads for the show are all female leads that are depicted as stronger than their male counterparts. The first being Snow White who actually saves and defends herself from the Evil Queen rather than being saved by Prince Charming. She eats the apple, not because she was forced, because of the guilt she had for ruining the Evil Queen’s life. Emma Swan is considered to be the hero of the show who saves the entire town of Storybrooke from the spell that the Evil Queen cast. The Evil Queen is a symbol of hope for the show because she is able to overcome her hatred for the majority of the characters and her thirst for revenge and become a hero, herself. The entire concept of the show revolves around the idea that someone’s life could get better if they try and make it better. 

Why do you find it beautiful?

Once Upon a Time has been my favorite show since the first season started. The cast, effects, and story line drew my attention because of the way that the show portrayed the fairy tales that I had grown up with. It showed all of the fairy tales in a different perspective and light. The latest season is one of my favorites so far because of the incorporation of Greek mythology. As you can tell, the majority of my blog is based on pieces of art that reflect Greek mythology in some way. This season connects fairy tale characters like no other, bringing to life a whole new story to grow up with. Although, the only downfall to the current season is the bad light cast on Hades’ character, portraying him as a villain as opposed to a strong, immortal character. Also, they unfortunately got many of the details and stories of Greek mythology wrong. However, the season still grabs anyone’s attention. I suppose that’s what makes it art. The show’s ability to intertwine characters into a complex storyline that originally had no connection is fascinating to watch. The cast also adds to the overall effect of the show because of their amazing portrayal of the characters and ability to bring them to life in the right way. I definitely recommend watching Once Upon a Time.

The Statue of Athena Parthenos

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

As many people know, the Parthenos on the Acropolis of Athens was dedicated to the city’s patron deity, Athena. Completed in 438 BC by famous Grecian sculptor, Phidias, the statue was made entirely out of gold and ivory. It was originally made to house the statue of Athena that the master sculptor Phidias had created out of gold and ivory to commemorate Athena as the leader of the Grecian forces in the Persian Wars. It means Virgin Athena and was richly decorated on the outside. The temple was built to accommodate the statue, with the Parthenon meaning “house of Parthenos”. The sculptor, Phidias, was famous for his other colossal bronze state of Athena Promachos and was later commissioned by Pericles to create the Athena Parthenos, which was to be worthy of the greatest city in Greece. The statue was to be 11.5 meters tall and made of ivory for the flesh, about 1140 kilos, and gold for the rest. The statue ended up costing around 5,000 talents. In front of the statue, there was a large tank of water, which was to be for the benefit of reflecting light into the chamber and keeping a moist atmosphere for the ivory. After many centuries, it appeared that the statue had disappeared. The replica created in Rome shortly after the disappearance in Greece caused many controversies. Considering it occurred after Emperor Hadrian’s request to move the statue out of Athens, many questioned whether the statue was stolen and sold off to the Roman Empire, after the fall of the Grecian Empire.

 

What is the artist communicating and how?

The sculpture represented Athena in her full glory. She stood majestically and armed, while holding a four cubit tall statue of Nike and wearing a peplos tucked into her belt. She held a large shield in her left hand and a spear on her left side, with a coiled snake residing between her feet and the shield. Her helmet had a triple-crest, a sphinx and two griffins. Her sandals had the mythical battle of the centaurs and the Lapiths and the base of her state had the scenes of the birth of Pandora. All these symbols and stories represented on the statue were made to allow the statue to create a stronger deity for the city of Athens. For example, the snake represented Erichtonios, who was a legendary king. The Athena Parthenos was also created to represent the warrior goddess standing at full height over the Persian Wars, in which Athens triumphed. It literally held all of the cities wealth within and on the statue. It also was the center of a cult who praised and worshipped Athena on a regular basis and was incredibly powerful. Therefore the Athena Parthenos signified two major themes: power and wealth within the city of Athens and a symbol of victory over those who started wars with Athens. Because of the great power the city of Athens represented, replicas and copies were made of either the entire statue or parts of the statue in various cities.

 

Why do you find it beautiful?

For as long as I can remember, I have always found Ancient Grecian culture to be the most interesting thing in the world. This is why the majority of my blog will be about different pieces of art based on Ancient Grecian culture and mythology, starting with the Statue of Athena Parthenos. The Statue of Athena Parthenos is beautiful to me in so many different ways. The most prominent reason being that it is simply lost. By lost, I mean that the actual, original, physical statue is lost. Many might question why I find a lost sculpture to be so riveting and honestly, it doesn’t even make sense to me. How can a piece of art be beautiful if you haven’t ever actually seen it before? Well, like we discussed in Philosophy, just because we have no proof that it once existed and just because we have never seen the original sculpture, doesn’t mean that it is not beautiful. I think that art that can be recreated and re-imagined by another artist who has never seen it before, but believes that in some lifetime, that piece of art existed and was revered by many, is beautiful. In Philosophy class, we learned and interpreted the idiom, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, yet this sculpture was never seen by anyone, and was recreated in places all over the world. They based their sculptures on stories that were passed down by generations and created that sculpture in their own artistic style. One sculpture created a ton of copies, all trying to capture the beauty that the original sculptor, Phidias, created.